


I Hope You Have A Speech Prepared

by CuriousThimble



Series: Fictober 2018 Microfics [20]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Antivan Crow Ambush, Antivan Crows, Blood, Break Up, F/M, Fighting, Love, Near Death, Poison, Taliesen - Freeform, post-Crow ambush, zevran's earring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 20:26:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16353704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousThimble/pseuds/CuriousThimble
Summary: After waking up in Zevran's room, Tabris is ambushed yet again- but this time it's her relationship with Zevran under fire.





	I Hope You Have A Speech Prepared

**Author's Note:**

> So Day 20 is definitely NOT a microfic, but that's ok. I posted yesterday's on Tumblr and had a very worried reader ask if I was planning to continue it. I wasn't, originally, but that changed my mind. So, elveny, if you're reading this, here you go.

Tabris opens her eyes slowly, groaning at the light blinding her. Sound comes slowly: a muttered curse, drapes moving, a door closing softly. She blinks again, the room out of focus, and opens her mouth to speak, only to find her throat is dry as bone. So much of her is in pain, she can’t even pinpoint where the pain begins.

 

“Don’t speak yet,” a voice says, and a fuzzy but familiar face appears above her. “Don’t move, you are bandaged and need to heal. Let me help you sit up.”

 

She nods, still disoriented, and hands come under her to move her to a sitting position. “Water?” she rasps.

 

A cup pressed to her lips, the voice brittle with worry. “Here, drink this.”

 

Water, cool and refreshing, making her throat feel as if she’s a living thing once again. He helps her take another, smaller sip before moving the cup away. By the time he returns, her vision is clearer, and she can see the worry hiding in the clenched jaw and fluttering hands.

 

“ _ Tesoro, _ ” she whispers, lifting a hand to touch his face.

 

“Don’t,” he says firmly, catching her hand before she can touch him. “I am angry with you.”

 

“Why?”

 

“You are a stupid, frustrating woman,” he begins. “You nearly died-”

 

“Are you going to lecture me?” she asks, amused. “I do hope you have a speech prepared, I’d love to hear what an Antivan Crow with a death wish has to say to  _ me _ about being careful.”

 

His jaw tightens again, as if he does, in fact, have a speech prepared, and she’s just ruined it. He stands, turning his back on her and propping his hands on his hips, taking deep breaths. Tabris takes the moment to look around, realizing she’s in  _ his _ room at Arl Eamon’s estate, not her own. It’s far smaller than the one she was given, but with a fire in the grate and the curtains closed, it’s warm and cozy. The bed doesn’t smell like him, though, and it takes a moment for her to realize that it’s because he’s spent every night in  _ her _ bed.

 

Finally, he turns back around, reaching into his pocket. “Here,” he says, offering something small and glittering. “It seems an appropriate moment to give you this.”

 

“An earring?” she asks, taking it and holding it to the light. “You don’t have to give me anything, Zevran.”

 

“I may not need to, but I want to,” he argues, holding his hand up when she tries to give it back. “I acquired it on my first job with the Crows. A Rivaini merchant prince and he was wearing a single, jeweled earring when I killed him. In fact, that was all he was wearing,” he says a little smugly. “I thought it was beautiful and took it to mark the occasion. I’ve kept it since...and I’d like you to have it.”

 

“This is a little out of the blue, isn’t it?” she asks, unsure of what exactly is happening.

 

He laughs, sensing her uncertainty. “Don’t get the wrong idea about it,” he teases. “You killed Taliesen. As far as the Crows are concerned, I died with him. That means I’m free, at least for now. Feel free to sell it, or wear it...or whatever you’d like. It’s really the least I could give you in return.”   
  


_ Oh. _ “So it’s not a...token of affection?” she asks, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice.

 

He frowns. “I...look, just...just take it. It’s meant a lot to me, but so have… so has what you’ve done. Please, take it.”

 

“What I’ve done,” she says, looking down at the sparkling earring.  _ What I’ve done- freed him from the Crows, he means. That’s what matters to him...not me, not what we’ve been to each other. Damn me to the void, I’ve been a fool. _ “No,” she says, setting it on the bed between them. “I’ll only take it if it means something.”

 

“You are a very frustrating woman to deal with, do you know that?” he asks, irritation flooding his voice suddenly.

 

“Yes, I do.”

 

“We pick up every other bit of treasure we come across, but not this. You don’t want the earring? You don’t  _ get _ the earring,” he snaps, snatching it off the bed. “Very simple.”

 

“ _ Tes- _ ”

 

“Why do you call me that?” he demands. “Why call me your treasure if you won’t take a simple gift of appreciation? It is unworthy of you.”

 

“Zevran, listen-”

 

“No, Warden,” he says, waving his hand to silence her. “I will have someone help you to your room.”

 

Tabris watches, stunned, as he storms out of the room cursing her in Antivan.  _ What just happened? _ She wonders, resting against the pillows and running the events through her mind. A knock sounds a moment later, and Alistair pops his head in, eyes closed.

 

“Kalli? Are you decent?”

 

“Mostly,” she says, glancing down at the shirt- Zevran’s- she wears. 

 

He opens his eyes and comes further in, closing the door behind him. “Zevran said you needed help getting to your room? How are you feeling?”

 

She tries to muster a smile for him but just ends up shrugging, her bottom lip jutting out. “Everything hurts.”

 

“Well, it should,” he agrees, sitting on the foot of the bed. “When Zev came bursting into the estate screaming for help, you were both covered in blood. He brought you in here and wouldn’t let Wynne near you until he’d administered the antidote himself. Wynne and Morrigan worked a long time before he’d leave them alone.”

 

“Really?” she asks.

 

He nods. “Oh, he was frantic. Hovered over their shoulders, asked some pretty stupid questions, tried to tell Wynne her bandage wasn’t tight enough. I thought she was going to turn him to stone after that,” he laughs. “I had to drag him out of here.”

 

“Then why…?” she shakes her head, throwing the blankets aside. “Let’s just go to my room,” she mutters.

 

“Oh no,” Alistair says and scoops her up. “You lost a lot of blood today.  _ I’m _ not getting myself into the line of fire with him, he already seems upset about something.”

 

“Yeah...something,” she sighs, letting him carry her upstairs.


End file.
